Chinese Calligraphy

Making Connections

     

Whether you are a visual arts teacher or not, connecting the art of a culture to the teaching of a culture adds depth to the experience, but more importantly, it adds depth to the learning. Just as many visual arts teachers I know, I've been integrating content from other areas into my lessons for years. It is amazing to watch students become very animated and excited when they start to see the connections between the art of the culture you are studying and the other aspects of that culture. 

Here is a prime example of how you can use art to help students to get a better grasp of some of the nuances of the culture of Ancient China. While my 6th grade students were learning about Ancient China in their Humanities class, I started to teach them about the importance of the Silk Road and how the Silk Road was one way in which the art of China made it's way to different cultures and became a prized commodity.

 Students learned about the Silk Road and were able to map out the routes along the Silk Road and they learned a little about the compass rose along the way. Next, students learned how to handle a brush and create the brush strokes necessary to create Chinese Characters used in Chinese Calligraphy. Once the students were adept at handling their brushes for calligraphy, they applied those skills to Chinese Brush Painting and created Chinese Brush Paintings of dragonflies and pandas. 

The students were proud of their work and they had a deeper connection with the cultural importance of self-control, self-discipline, and the patience needed to have a high degree of control in brushstrokes. Chinese culture requires an appreciation of craft that requires years of training and demands ultimate respect.

ASCD Express 9.09 - The Four Cs of Next Generation Engineering Standards

I read this on the ASCD site and I felt it was an important article to share. I think it is very important to keep up with articles, research, and debates that are taking place around the topic of art education. I cannot tell you how many times I've found myself debating the merits of art education or trying to explain the value of the Arts in our schools. This article gives you a nice dovetail when discussing art and the need for teaching students how to observe, visualize, and developing habits of mind.


ASCD Express 9.09 - The Four Cs of Next Generation Engineering Standards

Fail Safe Egyptian Cartouche

I have taught a lot of lessons centered around the art of Ancient Egypt and I have found the Egyptian Cartouche to be one of the favorites for my students, but sometimes it can also be frustrating. I've used everything from painting on wood blanks, to painting on card stock, to creating them in clay or paper maché. Recently, I was watching how some of my students really like working with a Sharpie and how they liked to color in the outlines with a variety of bright colors. As I watched, I found, even as 6th graders,  they really did not have the fine motor skills for the really small drawings with small details. They actually made much more impressive drawings when they could draw a little larger. So, based on this observation, I now have a fail safe way to have students create an Egyptian Cartouche.

 I must point out, sometimes my students make a cartouche that is very traditional with the traditional hieroglyphs. Depending upon the group, sometimes I like to push the students to use some of the visual symbols that are found in Egyptian art to create their own 'symbol' that they can put on their cartouche.

I bought Shrinky Dink frosted film ($4.99 for a pack of 10 sheets, 8x10). I cut the sheets into 6 pieces so I had enough film for 60 students to create a project. I gave the students a sheet of cartouche shapes to choose from and a couple of sheets with different symbols found in Egyptian art. Students were then able to create a cartouche design based on traditional Egyptian symbols.

Students traced the shapes they wanted to include in their design with a black Sharpie marker. Then, working on the frosted side, students colored their designs with color pencils. The next step was to use a hole punch to punch a hole at the top. (not too close to the edge) The final step was to put the plastic in a toaster oven for a couple of minutes until the design was shrunk down. (This is a process that students love to watch!)

Here are a couple of the designs my 6th graders came up with. The best part was the fact that every student had a successful project and every student was excited with their finished piece! They couldn't wait to wear them.

This is a great, economical way to approach intricate designs with students of all ages. 

   

Learning Through Sharing

I have a garden blog that I created a couple of years ago, and now, as I am exploring all things Web 2.0 in a class I'm taking,  I'm starting to think I should create a blog that is focused on the many resources I use as an art teacher. I want this blog to be akin to opening my file cabinet, flat files, and boxes of projects, lessons, and objects of inspiration. Whether you are an art teacher, a teacher who wants to integrate visual arts into your content area, or someone who just wants to try your hand at something new, I hope you find something that is helpful or useful.

Art has always been a part of my life and I'm now in my 20th year of teaching in the Baltimore City Public School System. I've taught PreK through 8th grade and I'm currently teaching middle school. I find as I open up and share my resources and experiences, I always come to a new conclusion, or discover new techniques and/or solutions. I am learning through sharing. It is this sharing that I find energizing. I hope you share in my love of art and you are energized by some of the ideas you find here. It is so important to keep art alive in our schools!

Noelle